Marley.
A street.
"Gabi, don't run too far."
"Okay!"
Watching the little girl dart ahead on short legs, Reiner took off his cap, breathing a relieved sigh.
He hadn't realized how much Gabi had grown. Back when he first became a Warrior candidate, she had been just a toddler who cried at the smallest thing.
Every setback brought tears, her wailing so loud Reiner once nicknamed her "the noise machine."
But now, she'd matured a little. She still cried sometimes, but less, and she seemed to understand more of the world.
Seeing her and the other children playing at the corner—building castles from sand—warmed his heart.
So cute, he thought. Even though he himself was only eight.
He had been living in the military barracks, where the harshness of training forced him to grow quickly. Returning home, he found himself even able to take part in family decisions.
Early maturity.
He believed it was right. Only by growing up faster could he live up to the power of the Armored Titan within him.
But not all his comrades thought that way.
"You're becoming more and more like Marcel, Reiner," Annie had told him once during training.
The words had stunned him.
Looking back, she wasn't wrong.
He didn't know when it had happened, but he had become the most earnest, the most diligent of the group.
When serious matters arose, the new captain Zeke always shrugged them off, and Reiner would be the one to step forward, offering plans.
Why was he like this? He didn't know.
But he was sure of his purpose.
It wasn't enough just to inherit the Armored Titan. He would use it, rise in battle again and again, earn glory, become the hero everyone revered.
Most of all, he had made a vow.
To kill the traitor. To kill Roger, who had deceived him.
It was his promise to Porco—and his own oath.
But Porco had vanished the day after seeking him out.
No one knew what had happened to him.
Now, as some festival neared, the once-empty streets bustled again.
Reiner had only come to buy things with Gabi, but her childlike nature had pulled them into playing outside.
On a park bench, he rested with hands behind his head, watching her laugh in the distance, drifting into a nap.
When he opened his eyes again, a small boy stood before him.
"Big brother, are you a soldier?"
The boy sniffled, staring at Reiner's armband.
"Yes. I'm the inheritor of the Armored Titan," Reiner said proudly.
"Really?! That's amazing!"
Soon, more children gathered, marveling.
All their "big brother, big brother" embarrassed him. He waved his hands humbly.
"As long as you work hard, you'll be the next Warrior too." He turned to the first boy. "What's your name? How old are you?"
"My name's Falco! My dream is to be the Armored Titan!"
"Is that so…"
"Absolutely not!!"
Reiner's reply was cut off by a sudden voice.
It was Gabi.
She stood with a long stick in her hands, a bucket on her head, playing soldier.
Everyone turned to look.
Blushing but bold, she shouted:
"I will inherit the Armored Titan! I will be the hero for everyone!!"
She raised her stick, pretending to shoot Reiner.
He clutched his chest, staggering dramatically before falling back on the bench.
The children burst into laughter, their games stretching until the sunset.
The park emptied slowly.
Days later, Reiner received the most important order of his life.
\[Go to Paradis Island. Find and reclaim the Founding Titan.]
He washed his uniform again and again, packed and repacked, until at last, before dawn, he stood at Marley's docks.
Sea winds lashed his face. Seagulls cried, echoing his ambitions.
"I won't let anyone down. After this, I'll become Eldia's hero!"
He clenched his fists and boarded the ship with his comrades.
On the voyage, it felt like the day of their first mission together, when they had been sent to witness the power of the Titans.
But now, Bertolt was silent, staring at the sea. Annie, too, gazed outward, her face unreadable.
Reiner talked the most, trying to lighten the mood. The only one to respond was Pieck, reading a book across from him.
"Save your energy, Reiner. Once we're on the island, there'll be a long march ahead."
She was the one most burdened—tasked to carry the others with her Cart Titan.
Reiner, ignored, fell quiet, sighing as he sipped his tea.
Silence settled. Only the sound of Pieck's pages turning filled the air.
Until the first officer banged on the door, cursing at them to get off the ship.
They rose.
"So we're here."
"Mm."
Like travelers, they stepped onto strange soil.
The wind blew, carrying their hair.
The ship left, its smoke vanishing into the horizon.
The four of them remained—just children, barely teenagers—alone on the island.
From then on, they would depend on one another.
Pieck wasted no time, shifting into the Cart Titan, carrying them toward the Walls.
She ran. Ran without stopping.
By nightfall, fog had rolled in.
In the mist, drenched in sweat, the Cart Titan halted.
They lit a fire.
In its glow, conversation returned.
"Let's go over the plan again," Reiner said.
"Right."
As leader, he began reciting the details.
Midway—
The ground split. Their fire tumbled into the cracks, smothered by sand.
"ROAR!!"
A Titan burst from the earth, jaws wide, seizing Reiner before he could move.
"AAAHHH!!"
Though each of them could transform, the sudden ambush paralyzed them with fear. They scattered, abandoning him.
"Reiner!!"
Pieck froze, unable to run. But she was too far to reach him.
"No! Please, no! I haven't… I haven't become a hero yet!!"
The Titan's teeth gnashed, ready to crush his skull—
Then a distant light flared.
The earth trembled.
A massive spike of stone erupted upward, impaling the Titan, hurling it skyward—freeing Reiner.
Pieck stared, shocked, toward the light.
Through the fog, she glimpsed a vast shadow—then it was gone.
"What… was that?"
Confusion filled her.
But Reiner had fainted, slipping from the Titan's grip.
There was no time to wonder. Pieck transformed, darting to catch him before he hit the ground.
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